Earth Day: 'No more glaciers in 40 years'

Earth Day. A day where we pay extra attention to the vast beauty of our nature and a day when we are also immediately concerned about the effects of climate change in the mountains. The Austrian Alpine Association has come up with very disturbing figures. They predict that if the melting continues at this rate, there will be no glaciers left in 40 years. One of the causes is that for a few years now they have also been melting at night due to the heat.

Photos: Gepatschferner in the Ötztaler left July 2020 and right July 2022 (source: Austrian Alpine Association)

Measuring is knowing

The glacier measuring service of the Alpine Association has been carrying out measurements since 1891. Never in history has there been a greater shrinkage of glaciers: 89 Austrian glaciers have been examined by the Alpine Association and they have become an average of 28.7 meters shorter. According to scientists, the melting of the glaciers will lead to sea levels rising by an additional 9 to 15 centimeters, depending on the warming scenario.

Director of the NKBV Robin Baks: “The findings of the Austrian Alpine Association are very disturbing. The retreating glaciers and the more extreme weather types of recent years are not good for nature and also require adaptability from everyone active in the mountains. Sustainability and how to deal with the climate are important themes for the NKBV. That is why we try to organize our activities as climate-neutral as possible and inform our members to travel as sustainably as possible. And we provide a lot of information and explanation to our members on how you can safely go into the mountains despite changing circumstances.'

Visibly worse

The effects of climate change are most visible in the mountains. See also Boris Textor. He is a UIAGM Ski and Mountain Guide: “The snow line in the Alps is shifting upwards. When I started guiding eleven years ago, the snow line was about a thousand meters, now it is about sixteen hundred meters. That will even increase to two thousand meters in the near future.”

Textor also raises a painful point: “The largest source of emissions is people. The trip to the Alps produces a lot of emissions.” He meets many people from the Netherlands who have been in the mountains all their lives: “They especially notice the difference at the glaciers. They just disappear.”

Earth Day

Earth Day has been held on April 22 since 1970. This year's theme is plastic. The organization states that there must be a 60% reduction in the production of all plastic products by 2040.

Photos: Scientists from the Austrian Alpine Association take measurements in the glaciers. (source: Alpine Association)

We are concerned about the future, but let's also ask ourselves how we can contribute. And above all, enjoy all the beauty that the mountains have to offer. And ensure that we can do that for a long time to come.

Vision on sustainability